Ayn Rand, born February 2nd 1905 in Saint Petersburg Russia, lived a momentous life until she passed away on March 6th 1982 in New York City. Published in 1943 The Fountainhead became an automatic success. Rand also wrote the screenplay for The Fountianhead which was released in 1949.
Setting and Time Period
The Fountainhead takes place during 1922 – 1939 in New York City, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Ohio.
Genre
The Fountianhead can be consider allegory, objectivist fiction, and a novel of ideas.
Allegory: (n.) 1. Story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. 2. The genre to which such works belong.
Themes
The main theme throughout the novel is independence versus dependence, between following one’s own ideas and following those of others. Other themes present are the importance of reason and the cruelty of love.
Characters Howard Roark : Born into a poor family he supported himself throughout high school and college. He continues his passion for construction and architecture in the work field. Roark is the undisputed hero of the novel. Having many friends and colleagues Roark is independent man following his on insist and beliefs.
Peter Keating: Keating thrives off the fame and approval of others he receives through the ideas he steals from Roark. Maliciously creating his way to the top Keating discovers the error of his ways having a steep fall to live the rest of his life in frightened misery.
Ellsworth Toohey: Toohey is the antagonist in the novel; a man of pure evil who lives of the power he receives from others. Toohey has the ability to control others with a weaker mind, and that is where his power lies. Since he strives off of the dependency of followers no independent man will listen of agree with him.
Gail Wynand: Rising from the slums of New York to wealth and power he is degraded by many, therefore he uses his newspaper chain to dominate the public. Wynand is a close friend to Roark, both sharing common morals and beliefs. Yet his articles portray his alter ego whose main attempt is to attract the public. Dominique Francon: In the beginning Francon is an idealist combined with a pessimist. After joining Roark romantically she learns to live life for herself creating a new world of happiness where success and recognition do not weigh as much.
Symbols: Granite: Granite symbolizes Roarks character; a strong, rare, and unchanging man. When Dominique first sees Roark at a granite quarry she wishes the drilling would destroy Roark, but by the end of the novel, she is pleased by his ability to drill the granite to form the desired shape.
The Banner: The Banner symbolizes the worst element of society and culture. The Banner feeds the public’s poor taste. After Wynand realizes how terrible the Banner is he attempts to change the banner to something honorable he discovers that the public’s opinion cannot be changed.
Major conflicts:
Keating allows the government to alter Roarks designs which he requested to be faithfully followed. Roark dynamites the housing project to set up a test case.
To watch the court case click the link provied. http://youtu.be/Nq9udFmsNO0
Key Scenes:
The climax of the novel is when Roark set off the dynamite off, and the resolution is the trial at the courthouse.
Key quotations: Roark to Peter : "If you want my advice, Peter," he said at last, "you've made a mistake already. By asking me. By asking anyone. Never ask people. Not about your work. Don't you know what you want? How can you stand it, not to know?" (p .33)
“In this way, though it’s not traditional architecture of course, it will give the public the impression of what they’re accustomed to.” (p. 196)
“Why an honest building, like an honest man, had to be of one piece and one faith; what constituted the life source, the idea in any existing thing or creature, and why—if one smallest part committed treason to that idea—the thing or the creature was dead; and why the good, the high and the noble on earth was only that which kept its integrity.” (p. 197)
"Independence is the only gauge of human virtue and value. What a man is and makes of himself; not what he has or hasn't done for others. There is no substitute for personal dignity."(p. 681)
Your reactions/ reader responses:
The Fountianhead is appealing to teenagers and young adults due to the theme of independence verses dependence.
Notable literary devices: Motifs:
Technical Progress – The novel as a whole measures the progress mankind was currently making in the technological world by buildings and scientific innovations it produces.
By: Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand, born February 2nd 1905 in Saint Petersburg Russia, lived a momentous life until she passed away on March 6th 1982 in New York City. Published in 1943 The Fountainhead became an automatic success. Rand also wrote the screenplay for The Fountianhead which was released in 1949.
To further your knowledge on Ayn Rand click the link below to the Ayn Rand Institute website:
http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_ayn_rand_aynrand_biography
To see the trailer for the movie click the link below:
http://youtu.be/swOxKu80JpU
Setting and Time Period
The Fountainhead takes place during 1922 – 1939 in New York City, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Ohio.
Genre
The Fountianhead can be consider allegory, objectivist fiction, and a novel of ideas.
Allegory: (n.) 1. Story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. 2. The genre to which such works belong.
Themes
The main theme throughout the novel is independence versus dependence, between following one’s own ideas and following those of others. Other themes present are the importance of reason and the cruelty of love.
Characters
Howard Roark : Born into a poor family he supported himself throughout high school and college. He continues his passion for construction and architecture in the work field. Roark is the undisputed hero of the novel. Having many friends and colleagues Roark is independent man following his on insist and beliefs.
Peter Keating: Keating thrives off the fame and approval of others he receives through the ideas he steals from Roark. Maliciously creating his way to the top Keating discovers the error of his ways having a steep fall to live the rest of his life in frightened misery.
Ellsworth Toohey: Toohey is the antagonist in the novel; a man of pure evil who lives of the power he receives from others. Toohey has the ability to control others with a weaker mind, and that is where his power lies. Since he strives off of the dependency of followers no independent man will listen of agree with him.
Gail Wynand: Rising from the slums of New York to wealth and power he is degraded by many, therefore he uses his newspaper chain to dominate the public. Wynand is a close friend to Roark, both sharing common morals and beliefs. Yet his articles portray his alter ego whose main attempt is to attract the public.
Dominique Francon: In the beginning Francon is an idealist combined with a pessimist. After joining Roark romantically she learns to live life for herself creating a new world of happiness where success and recognition do not weigh as much.
Symbols:
Granite: Granite symbolizes Roarks character; a strong, rare, and unchanging man. When Dominique first sees Roark at a granite quarry she wishes the drilling would destroy Roark, but by the end of the novel, she is pleased by his ability to drill the granite to form the desired shape.
The Banner: The Banner symbolizes the worst element of society and culture. The Banner feeds the public’s poor taste. After Wynand realizes how terrible the Banner is he attempts to change the banner to something honorable he discovers that the public’s opinion cannot be changed.
Tone:
Ayn Rand’s tone throughout the novel is formal, moralizing, and didactic.
*More on formal tone - http://writing121.wordpress.com/2008/04/01/informal-vs-formal-writing/
*More on moralizing tone - http://depts.gpc.edu/~dunowl/handouts/authors-tone.pdf
*Definition of didactic tone - http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/didactic
Major conflicts:
Keating allows the government to alter Roarks designs which he requested to be faithfully followed. Roark dynamites the housing project to set up a test case.
To watch the court case click the link provied. http://youtu.be/Nq9udFmsNO0
Key Scenes:
The climax of the novel is when Roark set off the dynamite off, and the resolution is the trial at the courthouse.
Key quotations:
Roark to Peter : "If you want my advice, Peter," he said at last, "you've made a mistake already. By asking me. By asking anyone. Never ask people. Not about your work. Don't you know what you want? How can you stand it, not to know?" (p .33)
“In this way, though it’s not traditional architecture of course, it will give the public the impression of what they’re accustomed to.” (p. 196)
“Why an honest building, like an honest man, had to be of one piece and one faith; what constituted the life source, the idea in any existing thing or creature, and why—if one smallest part committed treason to that idea—the thing or the creature was dead; and why the good, the high and the noble on earth was only that which kept its integrity.” (p. 197)
"Independence is the only gauge of human virtue and value. What a man is and makes of himself; not what he has or hasn't done for others. There is no substitute for personal dignity."(p. 681)
Your reactions/ reader responses:
The Fountianhead is appealing to teenagers and young adults due to the theme of independence verses dependence.
Notable literary devices:
Motifs: